


Back X To X Blood

by Inu_Sama



Series: Hunter X Hunter [1]
Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Aged-Up Gon Freecs, Aged-up Killua, Aged-up Kurapika, Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Animal Instincts, Dark Gon Freecs, Devious Gon Freecs, F/M, Ging Freecs is in for a world of hurt, Gon Freecs is not here to fuck around, Gon Freecs is not innocent, M/M, Not everyone is a shifter, Slow To Update, Violent Gon Freecs, calling people out on their shit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-09-22 20:31:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17066579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inu_Sama/pseuds/Inu_Sama
Summary: 'The older I get, the harder it is to act like the happy idiot she wants me to be.' Gon thought grimly as he turned away from Mito, his carefree smile falling and the childish sparkle in his eyes dulling.





	1. The X Test X Has X Already X Begun!

Gon turned away from Mito, his carefree smile falling and the childish sparkle in his eyes dulling as he made his way down the hill to town. He adjusted the straps of his pack, the steel hook of his fishing pole clinking softly against the rod. He let out a relieved breath when he could no longer feel their stares on his back.

 _'The older I get, the harder it is to act like the happy idiot she wants me to be.'_ he sighed, scrubbing a calloused hand over his tired face. _'At least now I can leave this stupid island,'_ he thought with some relish, he'd never felt comfortable here. Gon always felt on edge, like he wasn't supposed to be here. It felt wrong for him to have stayed in the one place for so long and it made him antsy. Which was weird because he'd never been anywhere else.

Mito always said that he was just like his father, that they were both too much of a nomad for the quiet life her family had built on Whale Island. He'd had to look it up, but 'nomad' explained what he was feeling perfectly. He was a wanderer, he didn't _want_ a permanent home. So when he heard the Hunter Exams were coming up, he jumped on the chance to leave.

It was like being stuck indoors all his life and then suddenly he was being allowed to go outside, now he could _breathe_ . With every step closer to the dock, he felt lighter, freer. Still, he wasn't out _just_ yet. He could feel his mask snap back into place when he spotted the first signs of the trading district that hugged the shoreline as close to the docks as possible. The twinkle returned to his eye and his whole demeanor perked up, if you didn't see the transition, most people would have thought it to be two different boys. That was the point.

No one wanted to know _him_ . They didn't _want_ to see the quiet, calculating, _cold_ boy that preferred animals to people. They didn't _want_ the boy with an unbridled sense of self-preservation and a spine made of steel in equal measures, the boy with muddied morals and cynicism in spades. They didn't _like_ the almost animalistic slant to his eyes, the way he saw, heard, smelt things long before they did - it unnerved them, convinced them of his _otherness_.

No, they wanted the happy-go-lucky idiot that always had a warm smile and a kind word for everyone, no matter who they were. The twinkle of mischief endeared him to them, making them disregard the orange _glow_ to his eyes. The assumption of his intelligence (or lack thereof) made them relax and the easy-going nature of his mask caused them to think him innocent and naive. When he wore his mask, they were unable to see the threat that lay beneath - which served his purposes.

But now that he was sixteen, it was getting harder to play the role the village had thrust upon him. His mask now felt like he was wearing a shirt that was three sizes too small. That was why he needed to leave, needed to find a place where his 'peculiarities' weren't a source of contention, where he could just be himself. He'd formed the mask as a matter of self-preservation, but he could feel it wearing on his psyche.

Gon grimaced when he saw how busy it was, the place was packed but he could see the big boat he needed to get on. It was just his luck that it was on the _other_ side of the port. He grumbled to himself even as he pasted on his signature smile and descended into the fray. The merchants were taking advantage of the unusual influx of new people, although a wise business move, it was causing chaos with all the lowered prices. The villagers got almost as bored as Gon sometimes, so it was no surprise they would come down to have a sticky-beak too.

They lived in a small community where everybody knew everybody else, sure it made for a close-knit community that took care of their own. But it also meant there were no secrets, no privacy - two things that Gon _thrived_ in. It was bad enough they had a communal bath house instead of individual indoor plumbing. And though he understood the way things worked around here, didn't mean Gon loved the noise or the uncomfortable press of bodies he had to wade through to get to the boat.

He waved to those that spotted him, smiling like the dumb but innocent sixteen year old he was supposed to be. He tried not to snap at the people around him with his teeth when they carelessly bumped into him as if he wasn't even there. He was almost there, _almost--_

He tried not to scream in frustration when he felt a familiar hand clamp down on his shoulder. God, he was _so close_.

"Well hiya Gon! Almost missed ya! Goin' off ta the Hunter Exams now?" a gravelly voice asked with just a little _too much_ enthusiasm, a little _too much_ interest. Gon repressed a shudder of revulsion and spun to see the old man in all his fisherman glory. He beamed at him even as it felt like there were bugs crawling under his skin from where the man touched him. He could feel it through the tough fabric of his jacket and he wanted to _burn_ it and then take _several hot baths_. It would never be enough.

"Sure am, Mr. Dellany!" He chirped, hooking a thumb through the belt loop of his shorts as the other gripped one of the straps of his pack. It was just a coincidence that it put his hands closer to his weapons, his _sharp_ weapons. Yup, pure coincidence. He hoped the implied distance by using his last name would make the man back off a bit, but it never had before and he wasn't optimistic of it happening now. Instead the light in the man's watery grey eyes brightened and Dellany smiled with yellowed and cracked teeth.

Gon fingered the hilt of one of the hunting knives strapped to his belt as he felt his patience thin, he had an identical one on the other side and a smaller version strapped to his thigh. He didn't know what the Hunter's Exam would be like, but he was damned if he wasn't going to be prepared.

Though if he _never actually got to the boat in the first place_ , it wouldn't matter.

"Oh! Well I'll walk with you a bit, it's been so long since I've last seen you! You've grown so much!" Dellany clapped like it was the most exciting thing to happen to him since sliced bread and Gon felt like just pulling out one of his knives and getting it over with, his reputation be damned.

 _'It's not like you'll ever be coming back here,'_ He _had_ thought about the man 'mysteriously disappearing' one day, but at the end of the day he didn't feel entirely comfortable taking a life - even a life as crummy as his. Though if it were for self-defence or part of his objective in the exam….he might make an exception. It's not like he's been in that sort of life or death situation before. Things might be different, then.

 _'You would be doing everyone a_ ** _favour~'_** Gon shook his head and tightened the seams of his mask as he felt them slip.

"N-no that's okay, it's just right over there, I think I'll be fine!" He tried to act like he was proud of getting the chance to be so independent, his brow twitching when the assertion was immediately brushed off. This man was persistent, Gon had to give him that at least.

"Nonsense!" Dellany rebutted with the wave of a hand, putting an arm around Gon's shoulders, the boy seriously considering bodily harm. ' _But'_ he tried to remind himself, he's suffered fools his entire life, he's suffered _this_ particular breed of scumbag since he was _six_.

"It's that big one over there right? Just humour an old man, will ya?" Dellany laughed, pulling Gon closer to his body as they started walking. Gon dragged in a calming breath, he could do this, it's not like the bastard had the balls to do anything in broad daylight surrounded by all these people.

He was wrong.

They were halfway to the boat and Dellany's hand was now at his waist, his thumb rubbing circles into the fabric of his jacket. Gon was trying _so_ hard to keep his mask on, to stay outwardly oblivious as he nattered on about trivial shit that Dellany wasn't even listening to. He was just about to crack when a sauve miracle in a blue suit stepped in to save him, smelling heavily of cheap cologne and brandishing a checkered briefcase that smelt of chemicals and cotton. A doctor. A doctor taking the Hunter's Exam by the look of it.

"Oh! _Hey_ , I've been looking _everywhere_ for you! You told me to meet you at the Takoyaki stand!" The doctor whined petulantly, gesturing wildly before latching a tanned hand onto Gon's wrist and pulling him out of the pedophile's grasp. Before anyone could protest, Gon was being frog marched over to the boat ramp.

"Sorry gramps! We're running out of time!" Leorio called over his shoulder with a fake smile, leaving the asshole red-faced and spluttering. Gon didn't bother to say his own goodbye, thoroughly done with pretending by that point. Once they were on the deck with all the other Examinees, the doctor let go of him like he'd been burnt and stepped a respectable distance away. Gon shook off the _slimy_ feeling of Dellany touching him, his mask falling.

The difference was immediate and all eyes swung incredulously to the kid, his aura making the air almost oppressive with how _thick_ it was. There was just _so much of it_. The doctor gasped quietly and wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. Gon smirked and held out his hand to shake.

"Thanks, if his hand had gone any lower I don't think I would've been able to hold back. I'm Gon by the way." He said, wiggling his fingers in askance when the other looked at his hand like it might bite. He found that description amusing, since he knew some carnivorous plants that looked like hands. He distinctly remembered their sharp little teeth….

"Leorio - and it was no trouble, there's always scumbags like that around my hometown, I learnt to spot'em pretty early on." Leorio introduced bashfully, the hand that wasn't shaking his, scratching the back of his neck. Gon smiled, a genuine one this time and turned to take in the competition. They were all looking at him in fear - no, that was a lie. One pair of eyes were watching him with open curiosity and a bit of sadness.

Some of them looked like they were going to pass out just from his mere presence, which made the blond boy across the deck all the more valuable. Surrounding himself with strong people was going to help him succeed in the Exams. His instincts wanted him to build a pack, so that's what he was going to do. They had never steered him wrong before so if these two were good enough, then they were _his_ . Now he just needed to make _them_ see that.

Gon grabbed Leorio by the cuff of his ridiculous suit and towed him over to the blond boy with more strength than someone his size should be able to accomplish.

"Hi! I'm Gon and this is Leorio!" Gon held out his hand like he had for Leorio and watched as the blond boy raked his eyes over him before nodding and taking his hand. _'I pass, I guess….'_ Gon thought with some amusement.

"Kurapika." Gon could already tell that they weren't going to mesh very well, just with that one word. This boy sounded like the serious straight-arrowed type, maybe with a sprinkling of tragic backstory that had 'tainted' him but he refused to let it influence him. Boring. Still, maybe his pack needed a voice of reason, someone to pull his leash when he was going too far.

It would be annoying, but ultimately useful in the end, so Gon smiled and shook his hand with a firm but not crushing grip. This guy wasn't as in touch with his primal side as Gon, if at all. He would most likely not handle a test very well - too human. Kurapika was much like Leorio in that respect. Except where Leorio's main attribute seemed to be kindness, Kurapika's was probably righteous anger and a depressing amount of self loathing.

Just then, on the lower deck there was a crash and laughter. Gon leaned over the railing to find a couple sailors harassing a busboy, who was trying to pick up the apples that fell out of the crate he was carrying. Gon's lip curled, he _hated_ bullies. He also just didn't understand the appeal of picking on someone weaker than you, it just seemed boring to him - and it made you look like a jackass in front of other people.

"Hey! What did I tell you?! Get back to work! We're leaving soon!" A gruff rounded man with a red nose and a white beard came out of the captain's lodge before Gon could teach them a lesson. He received a few 'y-yes captain!'s as the bullies scurried off to do their jobs, leaving the busboy to heft the crate off the ground. For someone with such skinny arms, he was stronger than he would have thought.

"Ah! You forgot one, here!" Gon interjected before the man could leave, chucking the apple into the crate.

"T-thanks….?" the man trailed off uncertainly and Gon beamed, looking just so to get the perpetually nervous man to relax around him. He knew how it felt to be bullied, though it was kind of pathetic that the man was an adult and still put up with that shit. Though it was even worse that adults became bullies in the first place.

"I'm Gon!" He waved and the man introduced himself as Katsuo. Katsuo left then, travelling below deck to put the last of the stock onboard. Gon studiously ignored the eyes on him from the Captain's quarters as he made his way back to Leorio.

That night there was a storm, the agitated waves rocking the boat and making it shudder with each impact. They were all hunkered down in the cabins, the other hunter-hopefuls that had been taunting Gon for his age and apparent weakness (despite their initial fear of him as humans were shite at listening to their guts) were now stuck in the throes of seas sickness. He wanted to laugh at them. So he did.

 _"Oh how the_ **_mighty_ ** _have fallen…"_ He muttered sarcastically from his perch on the support beam above Kurapika's hammock, gaining an amused tilt of lips from the blond as he turned another page in his book. Gon had never had the patience for reading, try as he might. He was too wired to properly lose himself in the words, always had been.

School would have been hell for him and if it weren't for Mito homeschooling him with mainly verbal lessons, he wouldn't have been able to graduate early enough to take this Exam. That was the price of her signing his application; he had to graduate high school first - though she probably thought she had a little over two more years before then. Gon's sanity wouldn't have lasted that long.

 

~~~~

There was another storm coming, he could smell the electricity and ozone on the air. This one would be much bigger than the one the night before. The captain looked a little stunned when Gon tried to warn him, though he couldn't blame him. Normally, people wouldn't be able to tell stuff like that until it was much closer - the sky was still sunny and cloudless. He was grateful when the man seemed to believe him, though it probably had more to do with the erratic behaviour of the seagulls above them than his word.

An experienced sailor knew how to read the signs of danger, the animals around them often the bearers of said signs. The captain went to warn the other passengers, telling them they could be dropped off at the nearest port before the storm if they couldn't stomach it. Unsurprisingly, after last night everyone except Gon, Kurapika and Leorio bailed.

"There are millions of aspiring Hunters taking the exams each year and only a handful of them pass." The captain warned the three of them as they hid from the rain in the enclosed bridge, the wind roaring and rattling the windows. Leorio scoffed and muttered that _'it was too late now anyway, so why bother?'_. Kurapika simply pursed his lips and Gon crossed his arms and stuck his tongue out at the man, feeling childish. This made the captain laugh, a big full bellied laugh that was contagious, making Gon crack a grin.

"Good! Good! Now! Tell me why you want to be hunters so badly that you would risk your lives on my boat?" The man asked from over his shoulder when his laugh turned into chuckles as he navigated them through the storm with the kind of calm that came with years of experience.

The question made them pause and Gon frowned. That was kind of a personal question, wasn't it? One that seemed to ruffle both Leorio's and Kurapika's feathers something bad. He didn't see why they were giving themselves away when they could have just stayed calm and lied. Despite the Captain explaining that the Hunter's Exam had already begun, it wasn't stated that they had to tell the truth.

So when their bickering became too annoying, Gon spun a lie about how he wanted to meet his dad and see how awesome being a hunter must have been for the man to have abandoned him. All truth - in that Ging _had_ discarded him on Mito's porch in the middle of the night like the trash person he was, too cowardly to face Mito and give him over properly. And he did want to meet his dad, if only so that he could beat him into next tuesday for never contacting him. Even just a store bought birthday card would have made a world of difference.

The only lie was that he also wanted to be a Hunter because of the almost complete freedom they were allowed to have. With one little license he could go and do anywhere and anything he wanted. It had the intended effect though and now he had everyone looking at him with either sympathy or, in Leorio's case, shame at his own reticence. Leorio spilled the beans after that, a sob story about not being able to afford medical treatment for his best friend and how he was aiming to become rich enough to give out free healthcare.

It was a noble dream, but achievable only on a small scale unless he built a big enough empire that dabbled in all sorts of actual money-making schemes to be able to afford that. There would be a long way to go for that dream to come true, but Gon wasn't against it. He was just too much of a cynic to see it working out.

Kurapika's story was predictable, filled with personal tragedy and volatile angst with a sprinkle of insanity - just enough that it led to an almost obsession with enacting revenge. Yep, boring. Though that wasn't to say Gon wouldn't help him take down the little spiders, if only for the exercise.

After the storm settled, they arrived at their destination and the Captain pulled Gon aside to give him the location of the next 'test'. It turned out to be a huge tree house that belonged to a family of Kirikos. Of course, only Gon knew they weren't human but he played along for the sake of appearances. Once he'd made sure Leorio was able to handle the Kiriko's 'injuries', Gon pursued his 'attacker' while Kurapika went in the opposite direction in search of the 'woman'.

It didn't take Gon long to catch up with the Kiriko pair, tackling one out of the trees and to the ground. The Kiriko made a startled screech that scattered a nest of batfrogs out of a nearby tree and into the lake a little ways away.

"Caught you~" Gon sang as he held the beast down with a clawed hand around his/her throat, his eyes shining in the darkness.

The Kiriko seemed to shiver, eyes wide in trepidation.

"Y-You pass!" It shrieked, distressed voice alerting its partner who materialised from the forest to stand nervously in front of the demonic creature in the shape of a teenager. It hoped those words would be enough to knock the shifter out of the predatory haze the hunt had pulled him into. And true enough, the boy blinked, slitted eyes dimming as a small satisfied smile curled his lips and let go. The one on the ground scrambled to its feet and joined its partner, both watching  the boy pull on his 'human' mask one stitch at a time, the smile widening into a goofy grin meant to disarm and charm them. It would have worked too, if they hadn't seen what was underneath.

Kirikos were mimics, not true shifters like the one in front of them. Their human forms were just a costume, for all that they were sentient beings with intelligence on par with them. Shifters were something else entirely, a seamless mix of both human and beast that made them all the more dangerous.

"Really?! That's great! Let's go back to my friends to tell them!" Though the words themselves were light and childish, the tone was anything but and left no room for protest. Husband and Wife suddenly thought that it would be a good idea to retire early, maybe move out of the island too - if only to preserve their sanity, they thought simultaneously as they trudged behind the angelic monster with the razor-sharp grin and glowing slitted eyes.


	2. Phase X One!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Been a while.
> 
> #SorryNotSorry

When they stepped out of the elevator into a smooth stone tunnel, Gon immediately noted the two most powerful people in the entire crowd. 

One, the more flamboyant of the two, had slicked back wavy red hair and creamy skin, wearing some sort of clown onesie that was form fitting in all the right places. 

He seemed to be a fan of cards as he kept idly shuffling what looked like a customised deck as he waited with the rest of the Examinees for the first phase to begin. 

All of Gon's senses seemed to be screaming two different things, one side of him wanted to stay as far away from this dangerous man as possible - while the other wanted to get as close as it could. 

Gon himself was a little confused, his instincts had never led him in two different directions before but he was inclined to err on the side of caution for now.

Something that proved to be fortunate as the clown--no,  _ magician  _ simply  _ disintegrated  _ a guy's arms in a shower of red flowers because they _ bumped into him _ . The man was clearly unstable, but his instincts still told him there was more to it than that. 

_ Glowing  _ yellow eyes narrowed into slits as they met his and Gon allowed his orange ones to  _ glow  _ as well, two predators sizing each other up. The question was; who was better?

After a moment of staring, the magician offered him a shallow dip of his head and a devilish smirk before turning away to go further into the crowd. 

Gon cocked his head, listening for his heeled footsteps and was impressed when he couldn't pick them out. He knew from Mito that it was very hard to stay quiet in heels, especially on hard surfaces.

As the magician had indicated, they would both watch and wait to see what kind of predator the other was and whether they could get along. 

The second most powerful person in the crowd was a tall man filled with golden pins, he had purple skin and was trying to hide his aura - but Gon's senses were too acute. 

The pinhead didn't acknowledge him, instead staring at the wall with an unfocused gaze that put him on edge. There was something wrong with that one, Gon was sure. 

He blinked out of his thoughts when a shock of white hair filled his vision. Ah, it was the third most powerful person in the tunnel - a boy that looked to be his age and smelt like ozone just before lightning struck. 

He had blue-grey eyes that would seem cold to anyone else, but to Gon they had a certain sparkle in them that he recognised in his own eyes sometimes. He might be able to get along with this particular type of predator.

Especially since he had already expressed a similar interest by coming up to him so readily.

"Hi, I'm Gon." He offered, seeing as the boy had finished assessing him in turn. He idly wondered what the results were, though he didn't seem to have been found lacking as the boy grinned with sharp teeth and held out his hand.

"Killua." 'Killua' had a strong handshake, he could add 'deceptively strong' to the list of qualities he'd already seen of the boy. 

Gon smirked and squeezed back, surprising him with his own immense strength. Two could play at that game.

The moment was interrupted by a small green man dressed in a pinstripe suit appearing in front of them, startling Kurapika and Leorio who had been watching awkwardly from behind him. 

Gon and Killua were unsurprised as they had felt him coming. The man held out three circular white pins the size of his fist with numbers on them.

"Please put these on and do  _ not _ , under  _ any  _ circumstances, take them  _ off _ ." He instructed primly, looking at the three newcomers without emotion despite how naturally happy his face looked. 

Gon took the highest number - #405 - while Leorio sheepishly took the lowest, #403 with Kurapika obviously taking the middle one. Killua had a #99 pinned to his lilac shirt.

"Haven't seen you guys here before!" A voice called from behind them, startling Leorio as he whirled around with his hand on his chest. 

Seriously, the guy needed to develop some sort of situational awareness or  _ something _ . Without him, Gon was sure the guy would be nothing but bait for the others. 

"Ah! Tonpa! I was just looking for you! Do you have more of that  _ juice _ ?" Killua spun around to address a middle-aged man with a square nose and beady little eyes who was sitting on one of the pipes halfway up the wall. 

The man seemed to flinch at the sight of him before a tame smile was plastered onto his tanned face. Gon's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Y-yes of course!" He nodded, showing a surprising amount of dexterity as he hopped down from the pipe to land easily on his feet in front of them. He dug into a bag strapped to his side and pulled out four orange cans. 

"A toast to our new friendship!" Tonpa explained as he pushed the cans at Gon and the others with an overly friendly smile. If Gon was suspicious before, his hackles were definitely raised now. 

Nobody in the Hunter Exam was that friendly without a reason, an ulterior motive. This Exam was made up of the hardest predators in the world, people like what Tonpa was trying to be should have been thinned from the herd by now. 

Gon opened his can and took an experimental sniff and his eyes widened.

"Don't drink it. It's off." Gon ordered, pleased when Leorio immediately spat it out and Kurapika dropped the can altogether. It wasn't off, but being able to smell the toxin inside was one thing, knowing what it was right off the bat was entirely another. 

After a few sips they would have been subject to terrible diarrhea and seizures. It would have lasted for over 36hrs... Just long enough for them to have missed the first phase of the Hunter's Exam. Gon eyed Killua with just as much suspicion, thinking of his earlier words.

By all rights he should be writhing on the floor shitting himself. Was this another test? Killua met his glare with a smirk, wiggling his snowy eyebrows as if he knew what Gon was thinking. Yes, it was another test - a deadly one. 

Gon aimed a sharp elbow to the other boy's side too quick for the slippery asshole to dodge and relished in the pained wheeze he let out as Gon pulled him close by the back of his neck. Their exchange was drowned out by Leorio's over the top complaining.

_ "If you wanted to  _ **_play_ ** _ , all you had to do was  _ **_ask~_ ** _ "  _ Gon purred dangerously into his ear, making Killua shiver in anticipation. Gon let him go just as a flustered doctor turned his diatribe on their side of the circle.

"How could you tell?!" Leorio demanded, earning a sharp side-eye from Gon that made him freeze and drop his flailing arms. This human was dramatic, sometimes it was funny, sometimes it wasn't. Right now it was just annoying.

"I could just tell. Couldn't you?" Gon asked with noticeable disinterest, a complete contrast to the daggers he was sending the man, wanting him to just drop it already. He didn't exactly want their competitors to know his abilities this early in the game.

"Well hey, I'm sorry about that. I honestly had no idea they were off, that store clerk totally ripped me off!" Tonpa apologised with mock anger at a probably imaginary situation that never actually happened. 

Gon's slitted gaze snapped to him and Tonpa flinched, backing up a step before he seemed to rally himself to continue his speech.

"But hey--how 'bout I tell you about the other Examinees as an apology?" He transitioned smoothly, fake grin back in place. Gon blinked, eyes returning to normal as he nodded.

"Who was the guy that disintegrated that dude's arms?" Gon asked immediately, pointing to the sobbing man being escorted out of the tunnel by two men in white uniforms. Tonpa seemed taken aback by the request before he leaned forward conspiratorially, grin dimmed into a sly smile.

"That was #44, Hisoka, he was here last year too--got disqualified after he killed an examiner he didn't like. Guy's crazy, you better stay away from him, kid." Tonpa warned like he hadn't just tried to poison them, like he wasn't dangerous as well.

"Okay, thanks for that. Bye now." Gon dismissed, spying the little green man standing up at the front with a clock like he was waiting for something. When Tonpa grumbled under his breath and waddled off, the clock screamed like a banshee, gaining everyone's attention and stopping all conversation. 

The man turned the horrible thing off and the wall behind him lifted to reveal more tunnel and a tall man in a purple suit and a mustache.

"My name is Satoz and I will be your Examiner for Phase One of the Hunter Exam." His cool blue eyes scanned the crowd indiscriminately, hands folded behind his straight back. Everything about him was prim and proper, not a hair out of place and it made Gon somewhat uncomfortable. 

There was something wrong with him, something lurking under the surface that Gon's instincts demanded he take note of.  _ This was a true Hunter _ , they whispered,  _ don't underestimate him. _

"The rules are simple, follow me through this tunnel. I do not care  _ how _ , as long as you keep pace with me. Good luck to you all." Satoz finished ominously before turning and walking away from them. 

It took them all a few moments to realise the Exam had started and all 400+ Examinees rushed to catch up.

"Pfft, just follow him? This'll be easier than I thought!" Leorio exclaimed, jogging ahead of them with a grin. Kurapika followed, calling for him to slow down and  _ 'think about it! He never said for how long! Conserve your energy!' _ while Killua hung back with Gon on his skateboard.

"So…what's your favourite colour?" Gon asked casually after a few miles and three speed-ups from Satoz. The man kept getting faster and there seemed to be no end to the tunnel in sight, people were already struggling. 

What they failed to realise was that it wasn't just about physical prowess, it was about whether or not you had the mental resilience to keep moving when things looked bleak, when the goal seemed unreachable. Gon had to hand it to Satoz, the man knew what he was doing.

"Green, actually." Killua laughed as he glanced pointedly at him from the corner of his eye, startling a few wheezing idiots who were destined to collapse soon. Gon looked down at his bright green jeans, black high-tops, white v-neck and dark green almost black leather jacket and laughed too.

"I guess mine is pretty obvious, huh? Though I would have guessed yours to be purple or something." he grinned, barely breaking a sweat when the group sped up again into an all-out run. 

Killua had on a dark purple turtleneck under a lilac shirt, blue/purple jeggings and black steel-toed boots. It was an odd combination that sort of worked for him.

"I didn't even look at what I was putting on this morning, to be honest." Killua admitted cheerfully, doing an ollie over a downed examinee, who was wheezing with her face squished into the concrete. Gon grinned, eyes alight with mirth.

"I'll race you to Satoz! Loser buys dinner!" Gon challenged, taking off into the crowd that was getting thinner by the minute. He heard Killua shout behind him and laughed, light and carefree like the happy-go lucky kid he was supposed to be. He sped passed a complaining Leorio and a puffed Kurapika, feeling Killua hot on his heels.

"Gon! That was  _ so  _ cheating!" Killua shouted and Gon dodged the swing of his skateboard with a laugh, leaping up the sudden stairs that appeared at the end of the tunnel. 

Satoz had just opened the door at the top when both boys bounded through, surprising the man. The tunnel opened up into a dense foggy forest that smelled sweet and instantly gave Gon pause.

"What is this place?" Killua asked, surveying what little could be seen with suspicious eyes.

"This," Mr. Satoz announced once those that made it were gathered around him on the large slab of concrete just outside the door. Beyond that was possibly many miles of marshland.

"Is Swindler's Swamp." he spread his arms out as if to encompass the entire area. A blood-curdling scream wrent the air somewhere off in the distance, only adding to the uneasy feeling in their guts.


End file.
